The Emergency Management Program
Nassau County's Emergency Management Program is a dedicated division of the Sheriff's Office. EM team members are well-trained professionals, experienced in Emergency Management best practices, the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS), as well as their individual EM Program specialties and the Incident Management Team (IMT) roles they fill during emergencies. EM team members take community preparedness and resilience seriously, offering free training in a variety of topics to give residents the knowledge and skills they need to protect their families and property and to "be the help until professional help arrives." The team works daily to share information with partners and the public and to maintain comprehensive situational awareness, all while coordinating the planning, equipping, training, and practice among partner agencies required to ensure everyone is prepared to respond together effectively to all types of emergencies.
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During an emergency, the EOC Activation Level is elevated to Level 2, and may elevate to Level 1 for a disaster response that requires outside resources. EM personnel perform the Command, Public Information, Planning, and Logistics functions of the EOC IMT and supervise any partner agency personnel temporarily tasked to support the EOC and incident response. The EOC IMT's first priorities are clear crisis communications and stabilization of Community Lifelines; the IMT provides operational direction and planning support, gathers information and documents intelligence, and manages incident resources, while the first responders in the field perform the incident operations: impact assessments and life safety missions.
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Once basic Lifelines are re-established, activation of the EOC de-escalates, Incident Response transitions into Community Recovery, and the County government begins implementing its plans for debris clean-up, infrastructure repairs, and infrastructure restoration, including taking action to mitigate future damage from similar incidents.
Community Lifelines are the integrated network of assets, services, and capabilities that are used day-to-day to support the ongoing needs of society. Multiple components and subcomponents make up each lifeline. During a disaster response, First Responders conduct life-safety operations; Emergency Management focuses on stabilizing Community Lifelines.
